Dear Parents,

I hope that you are well. Your children have been settling back into school life and it has been such a pleasure to see fuller classrooms (even with the 1 meter rule rigorously applied). I enjoyed teaching French this week to Grade 12s and it reminded me of just how exhilarating (and exhausting!) the role of teacher is, especially at a school with such dynamism and ambition as GIS. Our teachers and teaching assistants have been working hard to get to know their new classes and to share information, so that we personalize the education for your children as much as possible.

We hope that younger students will look up to the role model of older students at GIS; we have established structures which enable this. I am therefore delighted to see that the leadership committees are re-starting in Secondary and that the house system is well underway again in Primary. As Mr Javier wrote last week, ‘4 Houses, 1 Home’.

As for examples of wonderful practice, I would like to thank Mr Norris, our Theory of Knowledge Coordinator, and all the IB TOK teachers and students, for the amazing Exhibition. In the words of Mr Norris, ‘Theory of Knowledge forms part of the DP’s core and focuses students’ inquiry on knowledge itself. Students tackle complex but fundamental questions that hone their critical thinking skills while also expanding their understanding of concepts such as truth, objectivity and belief. Students demonstrate their understanding of the connections between the sometimes abstract theory of knowledge concepts and the real world.’ I am delighted to share the link with you HERE.